Irish Chef Takes First Place at San Pellegrino UK & Ireland Young Chef Final

Three gifted Irish-based chefs last night competed in the prestigious San Pellegrino Young Chef UK and Ireland regional final and Aniar’s Chef de Partie Killian Crowley took the top spot to secure a place in the global final in Milan next year.

The hotly contested event took place in Aveqia, London and Killian’s Turbot, kohlrabi, sea purslane dish wowed the judging panel composed of Finnish-born and Dublin-based chef, Mickael Viljanen of The Greenhouse, Angela Hartnett, Alyn Williams and Phil Howard.

Killian began his culinary education at just 15 years old at cookery school in Belgium. He has worked at one star Le Clairefontaine in Luxembourg, with Alain Ducasse in the 3 Michelin star Le Louix XV in Monaco, and at Christophe Hardiquest’s restaurant Bon-Bon, where after 6 months he helped the team achieve a second star.

Limerick based chef Michael Tweedie, head chef at The Oakroom Restaurant at Adare Manor, presented his Duncannon Lobster, ravioli of scallop, lobster and basil, lightly spiced lobster bisque at the event, which secured him the runner up spot.

The third of the Irish-based chefs, Chef de Partie at The Clayton Dublin Airport Romuald Bukaty, competed with his ‘Hey John Dory’ dish.

Killian will follow in the footsteps of Mark Moriarty, who was crowned S.Pellegrino Young Chef in 2015 and has gone on to become a worldwide ambassador for Irish food.

By the end of December 2017, the 21 Young Chefs from around the globe will be announced as the official finalists, who will move on to the Grand Finale, to be held in June 2018.

Each finalist will be assigned a “Mentor Chef” (a member of their regional jury), who will provide them guidance on how to improve their signature dishes and support them in their preparation for the international finals. Killian has been assigned Angela Hartnett and stands a fantastic chance of taking Ireland all the way in the competition.

Massive congratulations to Killian and his mentor in Aniar JP McMahon – the future of Irish food is looking brighter every day.